Renata Tebaldi

Stars

Renata Tebaldi was an Italian soprano renowned for her angelic voice, her stardom at New York's Metropolitan Opera and Italy's La Scala and her media-fueled rivalry with Maria Callas.

Tebaldi was considered to have one of the most beautiful voices of the 20th century, relying on rich, perfectly produced tones. The late conductor Arturo Toscanini once said she had "the voice of an angel."

Tebaldi made her debut in 1944 as Elena in Boito's "Mefistofele" in the northern Italian town of Rovigo. She was soon performing in some of the world's most noted opera houses and sang in a concert of arias conducted by Toscanini at the 1946 reopening of Milan's La Scala, which had been damaged during World War II.

She made her London debut at Covent Garden as Desdemona in "Otello," on the opening night of the Scala company's London season in 1950, and returned to London in 1955 to sing "Tosca."

Her American debut was in San Francisco in 1950 as Aida. She made her Met debut as Desdemona on Jan. 31, 1955; she also sang Desdemona in her final role there on Jan. 8, 1973.

In all, Tebaldi made 270 performances at the Met, invited back season after season as one of the opera house's most popular singers. The Metropolitan's late general manager, Rudolf Bing, called her "dimples of iron," a reference to a sweet appearance that belied an iron will.

In 1976, Tebaldi retired from performing publicly and devoted much of her time to teaching. In a 2002 interview to mark her 80th birthday, she said she stopped singing while her voice was still powerful to avoid seeing "the mortifying season of decline."

More stars in...

Related stars

Points of interest

Click for more information

One thought about Renata Tebaldi

“

i have never met Renata Tebaldi, but she is with me in my heart and soul forever.This is the voice that has accompanied me through all my life.Hers is the sound of creation itself.It is ellemental,from the sweetness of a childs sigh to the clashing of Galaxies, this is a voice that takes away your pain, and makes life worth living.

”— luigi corvi, October 19, 2010 at 5:39 p.m.

Share a thought about Renata Tebaldi

Did you ever meet Renata Tebaldi? Share your memory.

Which other stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame have connections to Renata Tebaldi?

Are other places in the world important to Renata Tebaldi?

Does Renata Tebaldi deserve this star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame?

If you enter anything in this field your comment will be treated as spam